Copyright term is one of the most sacred areas for the film industry at large. "The longer the better" says the voice from on high, and everyone seems to blindly accept this creed. I wonder how true this is, particularly for independent and Truly Free filmmakers. I certainly don't feel this is so for culture in general. We are definitely being denied participating in a growing wave of remix & mashup work that is particularly interesting and relevant to the world today.

A handful of recent and diverse articles has me pondering. I very much liked the historical context that was given in Daniel Smith's article in the NY Times Sunday magazine "What Is Art For" on Lewis Hyde. Among other things, Hynes uses the example of Ben Franklin, who sought no patent on his stove design as he felt they were derived from already common information. But it was the discussion of art as being a "gift economy" that particularly resonated well for me. It speaks of

aboriginal societies in which the person of consequence — the man or woman who is deemed worthy of adulation, respect and emulation — is not the one who accumulates the most goods but the one who disperses them. Gift economies, as Mauss defines them, are marked by circulation and connectivity: goods have value only insofar as they are treated as gifts, and gifts can remain gifts only if they are continually given away. This results in a kind of engine of community cohesion, in which objects create social, psychological, emotional and spiritual bonds as they pass from hand to hand.

Hydes contextualizes creative work well:

Unlike a commodity, whose value begins to decline the moment it changes hands, an artwork gains in value from the act of being circulated—published, shown, written about, passed from generation to generation — from being, at its core, an offering.

This morning BoingBoing's post on Pam Samuelson's Free Culture 2008 lecture then spelled out another reason why we need Copyright Reform. She cites an article by John Tehranian (download it there) where he demonstrates that in a normal day (without any P2P activity) he potentially violated copyright law 83 times and was liable for $12.5M in fines. That is in a single day!

Recognizing how Intellectual Property Protection is central to what we do as filmmakers, how do we reconcile these other cultural needs and necessary reforms?

SF Film Society Blog

These gams graced the #SFIFF stage some four springs ago, and they'll be strolling their way back into this year's Festival lineup. We will make our first program announcement TOMORROW! Find out who owns these lovely blue tights and be at the ready to purchase tickets to this awesome Live & Onstage event. #SFFSmembers: you get first crack at snagging a seat. Not yet a member? Consider joining the Film Society. Trust us, no one belongs here more than you.

#TBT: San Francisco International Film Festival founder Irving Levin just before the second-ever #SFIFF (1958). This spring, we are proud to attach his name to the Festival prize that has honored him for so many years. Our Founder's Directing Award — presented in recent years to legendary filmmakers such as #RichardLinklater, #SpikeLee & #FrancisFordCoppola — will going forward be known as the Irving M. Levin Directing Award in memory of this passionate and driven Bay Area film exhibitor.

Last week, we announced the finalists for our #DocumentaryFilmFund, a competitive cash grant that supports post-production work on nonfiction films. We selected 11 outstanding projects after combing through more than 300 apps — read about these films on @indiewire at bit.ly/DFFfinalists2015. In the meantime, a #TBT to one of last year's grantees, #TomorrowWeDisappear. The doc follows a magician, puppeteer and an acrobat — all members of a small artist colony tucked away in New Delhi — as the neighborhood they inhabit begins to attract real estate developers and eviction looms on the horizon. Read more about past winners and the various ways that #SFFSsupports doc & #indiefilm at sffs.org.

#TBT: #SpikeLee & #DannyGlover at #SFIFF 29, for the world premiere of Lee's film She's Gotta Have It. Over the years, we've screened a variety of Lee's work, from his graduate school thesis film We Cut Heads to to his 2006 doc about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, When the Levees Broke: A Requiem In Four Acts. We also honored Lee at SFIFF 50 with the Festival's prestigious Founder's Directing Award. Love this filmmaker? His latest, #DaSweetBloodOfJesus, opens at the #RoxieTheater tomorrow!

#SFIFF 58 is just down the road! This year's Festival will run from April 23-May 7, and we will release our full program roster on March 31. In the meantime, stay tuned: a few select special events will be announced in advance. #SFFSmembers get first crack at purchasing tickets to all Festival programs. Not a member? Join now and beat the #SFIFF rush. Photo: #TheAmazingCatfish by Claudia Sainte-Luce (SFIFF 57).

Animator #TommMoore engaged in a live drawing demonstration at a local elementary school. Moore screened his #AcademyAward-nominated film #SongOfTheSea for nearly 300 Bay Area students through the SFFS Education program just a few weeks ago. Learn more about his visit with us and about our time with legendary Disney animator #GlenKeane on the Film Society Blog at blog.sffs.org.

Get YR hair did and head over to the #AsianArtMuseum this Thursday night! Their latest exhibition Seduction: Japan's Floating World kicks off with an awesome opening night party DJed by Proof (AKA @markyenriquez) and peppered with installations & performances by artist & sexuality educator @planetmidori. #SFFSmembers: want to join in the fun for free? Email community@sffs.org by 5p tonight with your name & member number for your chance to win a pair of tickets. Subject should read 'Courtesans & Cooks' & body should include reason why you want to go! Image: Courtesan promenading under cherry blossoms by Katsushika Hokuun, John C. Weber Collection. #TheFloatingWorld

Filmmakers: this is your final weekend to apply to the SFFS / KRF Filmmaking Grant! Get your materials together & submit by Feb. 17. This award funds narrative feature films in all stages of production. In addition to cash prizes, grantees receive one-on-one project consultation, fundraising assistance and access to the full suite of filmmaker services at #SFFS. You need not be local to apply! Pictured: #MosquitaYMari, a film about the evolving friendship between two Chicana high schoolers in Los Angeles, 2011 grant recipient. #SFFSsupports #indiefilm

Very saddened about the passing of journalist #DavidCarr. An amazing writer & forward thinker. Honored to have screened #PageOne: A Year Inside the #NewYorkTimes at #SFIFF 54, #AndrewRossi's in-depth portrait of the paper as it began transitioning into the digital era. Carr became the unexpected star of this film, and came to life on screen as a champion of the Times and an early adopter of new media. His voice will be missed by NYT readers & film lovers everywhere.

Filmmaker #AndrewRossi at #SFIFF 54, just before we screened his documentary #PageOne: A Year Inside the #NewYorkTimes. Journalist #DavidCarr became the unexpected star Rossi's film, and came to life on screen as a champion of the Times and an early adopter of new media. An amazing writer and forward thinker, Carr will be missed by NYT readers & film lovers everywhere.

In anticipation of this Friday's release of Boyhood with the filmmaker returning to SF for a round of Q&As, watch the onstage interview with Richard Linklater and Parker Posey and Boyhood Q&A from An Evening with Richard Linklater at the 57th San Francisco International Film Festival!

The San Francisco Film Society wrapped its 57th San Francisco International Film Festival (April 24–May 8) with 263 screenings of 168 films from 56 countries, which were attended by over 300 filmmakers and industry guests from over 20 countries. Over 15 days, SFIFF57 showed 74 narrative features, 29 documentary features and a total of 65 short films. See all the highlights and photo galleries!

Last night, the 57th San Francisco International Film Festival announced the winners of the juried Golden Gate Award and New Directors Prize competitionsat an event held at Rouge | Nick’s Crispy Tacos. This year the Festival awarded nearly $40,000 in prizes to emerging and established filmmakers from 13 countries around the globe!